Tan Xuguang

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Tan Xuguang (谭叙光)
Alias(es)	Xuguang 2
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Tan family; Pluto Academy, Class 2; Pluto Academy Basketball Club 6 37 38
Occupation/Role	High school student; basketball player; identified by Jiang Nian as the original novel’s third male lead 2 17 47
Status	Alive; attending Pluto Academy 50
First Appearance	Chapter 2, “First meeting with the male leads” 2

Background / History

Tan Xuguang is a young master of the Tan family and the younger brother of Tan Zhuishi, who becomes his Class 2 homeroom teacher. He has been close friends with Song Jici, Wen Jincheng, and Shen Hui for years despite their markedly different personalities 6 22 38.

According to Jiang Nian’s knowledge of the original novel, Fu Zhenzhen would drive a wedge between Xuguang and his brother. Xuguang would be deceived and nearly die at sea; Zhuishi would die saving him, leaving Xuguang abandoned by everyone. Tong Chuhe would subsequently be imprisoned while attempting to avenge Zhuishi. These are predicted outcomes, not events that have occurred in the supplied chapters 2 6.

Appearance

• Build and bearing: Stands tall and straight during his introduction to Jiang Nian 2.
• Distinctive smile: A slightly pointed canine tooth shows on one side when he smiles; his friendly expression is compared to a warm, adorable puppy 2 14.
• Family resemblance: Classmates remark that he and Tan Zhuishi look alike 6.
• Temporary injuries: After rescuing Fu Zhenzhen, he wears medical gauze on his face and a bandage around his knee, with small cuts near his mouth 40.

Personality

Xuguang is outgoing, playful, and drawn to excitement. He brings his friends over to watch the lakeside confrontation, organizes entertainment during military training, and readily joins their teasing. His enthusiastic reactions can also make him easy to trick: Jiang Nian’s smile immediately costs him a card in his own game 2 3 13 14.

His loyalty is more serious than his lighthearted manner suggests. The prediction of his brother’s death deeply distresses him, and he openly confronts Shen Lei on Shen Hui’s behalf. Despite distrusting Fu Zhenzhen, he intervenes when he sees her being dragged into an alley, later explaining to himself that he would have helped anyone in that situation 6 13 25 40.

He is confident and competitive on the basketball court, but more openly needy around Jiang Nian. He wants to impress her, pleads for her to cheer him on, and reacts jealously when Feng Xing seeks her company. Shen Hui privately calls him a “crybaby” after watching his appeals for her support 40 45 49.

Abilities & Skills

Hearing Jiang Nian’s Thoughts

Xuguang can hear Jiang Nian’s unspoken thoughts and discusses the phenomenon with his three closest friends 2 3.

• Learns about his predicted fate and his brother’s death through her inner monologue 2 6.
• Uses the group chat to confirm that the others heard the same voice and question whether they are characters in a story 3.
• Does not hear 88’s apology during the basketball match; hearing Jiang Nian does not give him direct access to everything her system says 48.
• Remains unaware of the temporary “heroine aura” until Jiang Nian’s later thoughts mention it, leaving him bewildered 50.

Basketball

Xuguang becomes one of Pluto’s star players shortly after joining its Basketball Club 22 38 47.

• Scoring: Makes three-pointers, drives to the basket, and uses successive fakes to evade defenders 38 48.
• Defense and teamwork: Steals possession, blocks Chen Dan’s shot, and supplies long passes to teammates 38 47.
• Competitive record: Defeats Feng Xing in a close one-on-one and later lands the decisive three-pointer in Pluto’s friendly-match victory 38 48.
• Limits: Multiple defenders restrict his receiving and passing during the second quarter; his strained ligament also threatens his participation 40 47.

Improvised Game Organization

During military training, Xuguang recreates “Forbidden Words and Actions” with handwritten notebook pages and yarn after the students surrender their consoles and board games 13 14.

• Explains the rules, prepares the cards, and organizes twelve players 14.
• Becomes the first person fully eliminated, losing his cards by smiling with his teeth showing and apologizing 14 15.

Temporary Buff Effects

Jiang Nian has 88 apply the buffs taken from Fu Zhenzhen to Xuguang during halftime, excluding Advanced Dancer. These are externally applied effects, not his own permanent abilities 47.

Buff	Documented effect	Duration
Shining Bright	Draws the attention of everyone present 47	Five minutes 47
Love at First Sight	Makes others’ hearts race around the bearer, producing a pleasurable feeling resembling romantic attraction 47	Five minutes 47

• The combined effects amplify his confident speech and restore his teammates’ morale 48.
• His teammates also blush and stare at him fervently, leaving him confused by their reaction 48.

Relationships

• Tan Zhuishi — Older brother and homeroom teacher. Xuguang is delighted by his appointment and devastated by the prediction that Zhuishi will die saving him 6.
• Jiang Nian — Classmate and romantic interest. He offers to protect her at their first meeting, seeks her encouragement for his matches, and reserves a difficult-to-book restaurant she wants to try 2 40 49.
• Song Jici — Longstanding close friend. Xuguang introduces himself through their friendship and joins the group’s teasing about Song’s predicted treatment of Jiang Nian 2 3 22.
• Wen Jincheng — Longstanding close friend and fellow listener to Jiang Nian’s thoughts. Wen declines Xuguang’s invitation to join basketball in favor of the Student Council 3 22.
• Shen Hui — Longstanding close friend. Xuguang publicly attacks Shen Lei’s attempt to claim kinship with Shen Hui, knowing the harm Shen Lei and his mother caused him 22 25.
• Tong Chuhe — Classmate whom he regards as his future sister-in-law. After hearing her predicted fate, he rejects classmates’ joking offers to marry Zhuishi 6.
• Fu Zhenzhen — Classmate he distrusts because of her treatment of Jiang Nian and her predicted role in dividing the Tan brothers. He nevertheless rescues her from thugs 13 40.
• Feng Xing — Respected basketball rival and rival for Jiang Nian’s attention. Feng later transfers to Pluto and becomes his deskmate; Jiang Nian’s imagined romance between them prompts mutual disgust rather than attraction 38 49 50.
• Li Fei — Basketball Club president and team captain. Selects Xuguang to face Feng Xing, initially orders him to rest his injury, and later clears him to compete 38 40 45.

Story Role / Major Arcs

First Meetings and Foreknowledge

• Draws his friends into the lakeside confrontation between Jiang Nian and Fu Zhenzhen, then hears the prediction of his brother’s death while introducing himself 2.
• Confirms the thought-hearing phenomenon in the four-person group chat. When Zhuishi arrives as homeroom teacher, further details about the sea rescue and Tong Chuhe’s imprisonment intensify his distress 3 6.

Military Training

• Joins his friends in checking on Jiang Nian during the demanding mountain march 9.
• Initiates the campfire game, but Jiang Nian immediately tricks him into revealing his teeth. He later apologizes for unintentionally bringing up Gao Wen’s deceased parents, triggering his second forbidden action and eliminating him 13 14 15.

Shen Family Banquet

• Watches Jiang Nian with his friends after she drinks wine they fear has been tampered with 25.
• Publicly mocks Shen Lei as an outsider trying to claim family ties with Shen Hui. Jiang Nian interrupts the tension by remarking that Xuguang sounds like a novel’s villain 25.

Basketball Rivalry and Injury

• Explains Pluto’s rivalry with Canghai Academy and brings Jiang Nian and Fang Qiu to watch the visiting club. His victory over Feng Xing establishes him as a capable newcomer 37 38.
• Suffers cuts and a strained ligament while stalling seven or eight armed thugs until police arrive. The injury initially sidelines him from the friendly match 40.
• Persuades Jiang Nian to enter the cheerleading tryouts, supplies her competition flyer, and enthusiastically cheers her performance. Before the match, he reports that his recovery has earned him permission to play 40 41 45.

Friendly Match and Aftermath

Event	Outcome
Opening quarter	Scores Pluto’s first basket; the quarter ends 12–12 47.
Second quarter	Faces multiple defenders; Pluto reaches halftime trailing Canghai 32–28 47.
Halftime	Becomes the unwitting bearer of Jiang Nian’s temporary buffs and rallies his teammates 47 48.
Final minute	Receives a pass after Pluto’s center steals the ball and sinks a three-pointer with thirty seconds remaining; Pluto wins 68–67 48.
Post-match lunch	Invites Jiang Nian and the others to a private restaurant, reluctantly adding Feng Xing to the reservation 49.
Following school day	Feng Xing transfers into Class 2 and takes the seat beside him 50.

Notable Quotes

“Since you call him your big brother, you can call me Xuguang. If anything happens, I’ve got your back.” 2

“Shoo, shoo, shoo! I already have a sister-in-law! Don’t get any ideas about my brother!” 6

“We beat them last time, and we’re not losing this time either.” 48